DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 154 397 CS 204 125

• TITLE Drama and Oral Interpretation: Abstracts of Doctoral Dissertations Published in "Dissertation Abstracts International," March through December 1977 (Vol. 37 No. 9 through Vol. 38 No. 6).

INSTITUTION ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills, Urbana, Ill.

PUB DATE 78 NOTE 15p.

EDRS PRICE NP-10.83 HC-$1.67 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Acting; *Annotated Bibliographies; Creative

Dramatics; Doctoral Theses; *Drama; *English Instruction; Films; Higher Education; •Interpretive Reading; Literature Appreciation; Secondary Education; *Speech Curriculum; Teaching Techniques; Television; *Theater Arts; Theaters

IDENTIFIERS Audience Response; Stanislavski (Konstantin)

ABSTRACT This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing

series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 19 dissertations deal with a variety of topics, including the following: the impact of Ronstantin Stanislayski's ideas cn motion picture acting in the United States and their significance for oral interpretation; the empathic ability of actors; the development of a secondary school oral interpretation course; the audition as a method actor selection; early children's theatre in the United States; the work environment of theatre department heads; the possible spatial configurations of live theatres; a comparision of the techniques of acting and Chamber Theatre in teaching literature; factors affecting oral interpreters' performance of specific literary works, audience comprehension, and audience evalution of performer effectiveness; the relationship of oral interpretation to its physical setting; the teaching of theatre arts in secondary schools; the teaching of creative movement to seventh graders; the use of improvisation in the teaching of English; and the development of "live" drama on television. (GV)

Drama and Oral Interpretation:

Abstracts of Doctoral Dissertations Published in Dissertation Abstracts International, March through December 1977 (Vol. 37 No. 9 through Vol. 38 No. 6)

Compiled by the Staff of

ERIC/RCS

The dissertation titles contained here are published with permission of the University Microfilms,International, publishers of Dissertation Abstracts International (copyright c®1977 by University Microfilms International), and may not be reproduced without their prior permission.

This bibliography has been compiled as part of a continuing series designed to make available information on relevant dissertations to users of the ERIC system. Monthly issues of Dissertation Abstracts International are reviewed in order to compile abstracts of dissertations on related topics; which thus become accessible in searches of the ERIC data base. Ordering information for the dissertations themselves is included at the end of the bibliography.

Abstracts of the following dissertations are included in this collection:

Blum, Richard Arthur

THE "METHOD" FROM STANISLAVSKI TO HOLLYWOOD: THE TRANSITION OF ACTING THEORY IN AMERICA FROM STAGE TO SCREEN (1900-1976)

Carpenter, Dana

A STUDY OF THE SELECTED ETHNIC THEATRICAL EXPERIENCE INCORPORATED IN THE THEATRE PROGRAMS OF AMERICAN COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

Cercone, Karen L.

THE E CTS OF THE REGULAR USE OF CONTEXT RELATED AND INDEPENDENT DRAMATIC ACTIVITIES ON SELECTED COMPONENT SKILLS OF CRITICAL THINK-ING, ON STUDENT ATTITUDES AND ON THE QUALITY OF DRAMATIC PERFORMANCES IN THE ENGLISH CLASSROOM

Collum, Dovard Kelly

THE EMPATHIC ABILITY OF ACTORS: A BEHAVIORAL STUDY

Davis, Michael Daniel

THE RATIONALE, VALUES, AND COURSE GUIDE FOR A SENIOR HIGH ORAL INTERPRETATION COURSE

Derseran, Catherine Agnes Botten

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AUDITION AS A METHOD OF SELECTING ACTORS FOR THE PROFESSIONAL LEGITIMATE THEATRE

Gamble, Michael Wesley

CLARE TREE MAJOR: CHILDREN'S THEATRE, 1923-1954

Garrett, Michael Dean

A STUDY OF DEPARTMENT CHAIRMEN IN SELECTED COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY THEATRE PROGRAMS: THEIR PERCEIVED PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS

Hellmers, Leonard Herbert, Jr.

FEASIBLE SIMULTANEOUS THEATRES: AN ANALYSIS OF THE SPACE-TIME POSSIBILITIES INHERENT IN THE AUDIENCE-PERFORMER PERCEPTUAL RELATION

House, Sandra Kay

EFFECTIVENESS OF CHAMBER THEATRE COMPARED TO ACTING FOR THE UNDER-STANDING OF LITERATURE

Keener, Cecelia Duncan

A STUDY OF THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG PERFORMER ATTITUDES, INVOLVEMENTWITH PERSONAE, AND THE PERFORMANCE OF LITERATURE

Kwal, Teri Susan

AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF SEX AS A FACTOR INFLUENCING AUDIENCE EVALUATION OF PERFORMER EFFECTIVENESS AND AUDIENCE COMPREHENSION OF PERFORMANCE FOR SELECTED DRAMATIC MONOLOGUES

Loxley, Robert Brian

ENVIRONMENTS FOR ORAL INTERPRETATION:THE DESIGN AND USE OF SPACE FOR THEPERFORMANCE OF LITERATURE

Murphy, James Ronald

AN EXAMINATION OF THE STATUS OF THEATRE ARTS AS TAUGHT IN THE PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS OF NEW JERSEY

Neiman, Jack

STANISLAVSKI: HIS ACTING PRINCIPLES AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE FOR THE FIELD OF ORAL INTERPRETATION

Oshens, Margaret Gwen

AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF CREATIVE MOVEMENT AS A MEANS OF INCREASING POSITIVE SELF-CONCEPT, PERSONAL, AND SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT OF SELECTED SEVENTH GRADE STUDENTS

Sarason, Kerin R.

A COMPARATIVE HISTORY OF THE DEVELOP-MENT OF IMPROVISATION IN THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH IN THE UNITED STATES AND IN THE UNITED KINGDOM FROM 1910-1975

Smith, Arthur Yates

A COMPARISON OF TWO INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS FOR TEACHING COMMUNICATIVE SKILLS OF ORAL INTERPRETATION

Thiel, Joan Elizabeth

ALBERT MCCLEERY'S TRANSFER OF THEATRE PRACTICE TO LIVE TELEVISION DRAMA

THE 'METHOD' FROM STANISLAVSKI TO HOLLYWOOD: THE TRANSITION OF ACTING THEORY IN AMERICA FROM STAGE TO SCREEN (1900-1976)

BLUM, Richard Arthur, Ph.D. University of Southern California, 1977

Chairman: Professor Richard Toscan

This study was designed to provide insight into a neglected area of inquiry-the impact of Stanislayski on American motion picture acting. Prior to this work, the Stanislayski influence was considered the sole heritage of the stage. The history of 'Method' acting is traced from the New York stage of the twen-ties, to the Hollywood sound stage of the seventies.

The text identifies three major periods in the development and dissemination of Stanislayski's ideas: (1) the Period of Expierimentation, 1900-1920, in which individual actors and directors sought different means of heightening the conveyance of truth to the audience; (2) the Period of Adoption and Modifi-cation, 1920-1950, in which the system was introduced to America, taught by individual actors and directors, and modi-fied in approach by the Group Theatre; (3) the Period of Ab-sorption, 1950-1976, in which the 'Method' became the most prominent acting style in realistic theatre and contemporary cinema.

The Period of Experimentation. At the turn of the century, Stanislayski experimented with the system in Moscow to coun-ter pictorial display on the commercial stage. In America, a 'similar situation occurred, with Belasco-realism dominating the commercial stage, and physical exaggeration dominating the early silent film. in both stage and film, actors and direc-tors experimented with more personal approaches to acting, eventually helping shift the aesthetic toward greater inner realism. D.W. Griffith sought more restraint in film, using techniques which paralleled the Stanislayski experiments. When sound appeared, the `new realism' in film acting was temporarily thrown into chaosbut the potential for realizing fully dimensionalized roles on screen became apparent.

The Period of Adoption and Modification. America was in-troduced to a formative version of the system by Alla Nazimova, who became the first student of Stanislayski's to succeed on the American stage and to star in films. It was not until the Mos-cow Art Theatre tours (1923-1924), however, that the system generated interest and excitement among American actors. After the tours, Richard Boleslayski and Maria Ouspenskaya taught the system at the American Laboratory Theatre, pro-viding a specific model for the founders of the Group Theatre of the thirties. Under Lee Strasberg's direction, the Group Theatre capitalized upon one aspect of Stanislayski training-inner technique. The modified emphasis was uniquely suited to the psychologically-themed plays and films of the period. Throughout the thirties and forties, Hollywood was greeted by a cross-over of talent from stage to screen, including first generation students of Stanislayski, e.g., Boleslayski and Ouspenskaya, and prominent members of the Group Theatre, e.g., Elia Kazan, who transferred the stage version of A Street-car Named Desire (1947) directly to film (1951) using 'Method techniques.

The Period of Absorption. Throughout the fifties and six-ties, the Actors Studio dominated the mainstream of realistic acting, with Strasberg's 'Method' at the heart of controversy. The 'Method' capitalized upon inner technique and psychoana-lytic exploration, utilizing Stanislayski's basic theory of achiev-ing inner truth through motivated action. It has become the mainstay of realistic acting throughout the seventies. In motion pictures alone, better than one hundred Academy Award nomi-nations were received by Actors Studio members from 1950 to 1978. That group, versed in the 'Method', included Marlon Brando, Dustin Hoffman, Paul Newman, Rod Steiger, Anne Bancroft, Joanne Woodward, Jane Fonda, Walter Matthau, Geraldine Page, Shelley Winters, and many others of equal calibre. In this sense, the motion picture actor of the late twentieth century has become a direct descendent of the Stanislayski heritage.

A STUDY OF THE SELECTED ETHNIC THEATRICAL EXPERIENCE INCORPORATED IN THE-THEATRE PRO-GRAMS OF AMERICAN COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

CARPENTER. Dana. Ph.D. Kansas State University, 1977

Statement of the Problem

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which the selected ethnic theatrical experience was incor-porated in the content and performing areas of the theatre pro-grams of American colleges and universities. Specifically, this study dealt with the following: 1. The provisions made for the inclusion of the Black, Mexican American, and American Indian theatrical experiences in the theatre curriculum. 2. The extent to which the selected ethnic theatrical experience existed in schools of predominantly white, predominantly Black, and predominantly Mexican American student populations. 3. The nature of the research, plays, or articles, relative to the Black, Mexican American, and American Indian theatrical experiences, published by chairpersons and faculties of Speech and/or The-atre Departments. 4. The nature and extent of training chair-persons and faculties of Speech and/or Theatre Departments have had in the Black theatrical experience. 5. The recency of efforts to reflect the selected ethnic theatrical experience in departmental theatre productions. 6. The nature and degree of efforts made by American colleges r.nd unive sires of pre-dominantly ethnic student pepulations to perpetuate their re-spective ethnic theatre experience in the theatre curricula.

Procedure

Data for this study were obtained from questionnaires which were sent to the chairpersons of Speech and/or Theatre Depart-ments in 235 four-year public and private American colleges and universities with student populations of 1,000 or more. Each institution of higher education offered at least a bac-calaureate in speech and/or theatre in a Department of Speech and/or Theatre. The writer received 189 (80 percent) re-sponses, with 181 (77 percent) of them being used in the anal-ysis.

Findings and Conclusions

1. Colleges and universities made limited attempts to make provisions for the inclusion of the selected ethnic theatrical experience. 2. Chairpersons and faculties had not taken ad-vantage of the mass body of knowledge about the selected ethnic theatrical experience. 3. The data indicated that there is a need for Black theatre to gain academic respectability in pre-dominantly white institutions. 4. Higher educational institu-tions have made recent efforts to reflect the selected ethnic theatrical experience in departmental theatre productions. Eighty-six (57 percent) white Institutions presented plays about the selected ethnic theatrical experience over a five year pe-riod. 5. Evidence of unbalanced theatre programs supported the conclusion that theatre curriculum developers have limited knowledge of ethnic theatre and the trends toward multicul-tural, multiethnic education. 6. Only Black institutions made the Black theatrical experience a high priority item in content and performance. Mexican American institutions had yet to prioritize Mexican American theatre.

Recommendations

I. All institutions should offer the selected ethnic theatri-cal experience either in a specific course or as a planned part of a regularly scheduled course such as modern drama, Amer-ican drama, or theatre history. 2. All institutions should in-clude a balance of theatre productions reflecting the selected

ethnic theatre as well as non-ethnic theatre. 3. in order to implement the previous recommendation. chairperson:, and faculties in most institutions should undertake programs of inservice or other education in order to develop background in the selected ethnic theatre. 4. Scholars in the area of the-atre should undertake the selected ethnic theatrical experience as a subject of research and publication. 5. Educational the-atre organizations should vigorously support the inclusion of the selected ethnic theatre content in the theatre curricula by mak-ing specific recommendations to American colleges and uni-versities relative to the ethnic theatrical experience. 8. Theneed for further research in the selected ethnic theatre ex-perience is evident. Order No. 77-26,027, 224 pages.

THE EFFECTS OF THE REGULAR USE OF CONTEXT RELATED AND INDEPENDENT DRAMATIC ACTIVITIES ON SELECTED COMPONENT SKILLS OF CRITICAL THINK-ING, ON STUDENT ATTITUDES AND ON THE QUALITY OF DRAMATIC PERFORMANCES IN THE ENGLISH CLASSROOM

CERCONE, Karen L., Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh, 1977

In this study the researcher investigated the effects of the regular use of videotaped context related and independent dra-matic activities on selected component skills of critical think-ing, on student attitudes, and on the quality of dramatic perfor-mances in the English classroom. One class of tenth grade upper level academic English students engaged in one context related dramatic activity per week for twelve weeks and a sim-ilar class engaged in one parallel independent dramatic activity per week.

The critical thinking skills investigated were the abilities to make inferences, recognize unstated assumptions, reason deductively, interpret data, and evaluate arguments. Pre and post administrations of the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal were used to rather data about independent critical thinking ability in the selected critical thinking skills. Also, five teacher constructed tests of content-specific critical think-ing ability were administered, one at the end of each of four literature units throughout the seventy day treatment period and one at the end of the treatment period on an unfamiliar short story. Two attitude surveys were administered at the end of the treatment period to gather data about student atti-tudes toward units studied in English class during the treat-ment period and abo4t perceived benefits of engaging In dra-matic activities. A dramatic performance evaluation for each

treatment group was completed by three independent evaluators on one context related and one independent dramatic activity at the end of the treatment period. This procedure was used to gather data about the quality of dramatic performance in four student performance behaviors -- verbal expression, body and facial expression, concentration on the scene, and total effectiveness of the scene.

In the area of critical thinking both groups showed a signifi-cant change over time on four of the five component skill scores ano the overall Lest score for the Watson-Glaser test instrument and the teacher made tests. Both groups earned significantly higher scores on teacher Made tests on units studied than on the teacher made test on an unfamiliar short story. A lack of many significant correlations between the results on the Watson-Glaser instrument and the results on the teacher made tests suggests that a significant relationship does not exist between the results on the Watson-Glaser instru-ment and the results on the teacher made tests. The differ-ences between the Context Group and the Independent Group performances on these measures were, in general, not signifi-cant'.

In the area of student attitudes groups did not differ signifi-cantly in the degree of positive attitudes in the five categories on the "Student Attitude Survey for Units Studied" or in six of the seven categories on the "Dramatic Activity Student Atti-tude Survey." On the units studied survey, a trend evolved showing Context Gróup students perceiving curricular benefits more clearly. On the perceived benefits of dramatic activities survey, the Context Group students reported significantly more positive attitudes about the extent to which the activities helped develop appreciation and taste than did fe independent Group

student s. la the area of quality of dramatic performances, the Con-

text Group and the Independent Group did not differ signifi-cantly in the ability to produce a dramatic performance. The groups also did not differ significantly in quality of perfor-

mance between the type of dramatic activity experience most familiar to the group and that least familiar to the group.

Order No. 77-23,554, 200 pages.

THE EMPATHIC ABILITY OF ACTORS: A BEHAVIORAL STUDY

COLLUM, Dovard Kelly, Ph.D. The Florida State University, 1976

Major Professor: Gil Lazier

This study is predicated on the assumption that empathy is an important element in the theatrical experience. The actor's empathic ability was selected as the focus of this research. Descriptions of highly empathic persons, reported in psycho-logical studies, indicate that these persons have personality traits that seem desirable in actors. It is also shown that reg-

ular intensive use of empathic attributes can cause an increase in empathic ability. This study asked whether actors have a higher empathic ability than the average non-actor and whether empathic abilities among actors increased with training and experience.

Data was gathered from 108 subjects. The subject groups consisted of beginning actors, pre-professional graduate stu-dents, professional actors, and a control group. The control group was randomly selected from the Green Bay, Wisconsin, metropolitan area. The first actor group consisted of students enrolled in freshman-sophomore college acting classes at three major universities. Actor group two subjects were students enrolled in pre-professional, Master of Fine Arts programs in acting at three major universities. The final group con-sisted of professional actors who are current active members of Actors' Equity.

The hypotheses tested were: (1) actors with the greatest amount of "experle.tce in the theatre profession' will score

higher on an empathy test than those with lesser experience, and (2) all actors will score higher on an empathy test than a randomly selected non-actor control group.

Two tests were administered to all subjects. The instru-ments selected were the Hogan Empathy Scale and The Chapin Social Insight Test. The data were analyzed by an analysis of variance and the Newman-Keuls procedure. The Hogan Em-pathy Scale data revealed that actors as a generic group score higher than the control beyond the .01 level of significance, but that actors do not increase empathy scores with training and experience. The Chapin Social Insight Test data showed no aig-nificance for either question. A correlation between the Hogan and Chapin test's reveals an - of -.12 indicating that the tests are not assessing the same things. Additional correlations forthe professional actor group between the Hogan Empathy Scale and the professional variables of (1) years as a member of Actors' Equity and (2) years in which 100 percent of income

wasfrom actingyielded negative correlations significant at the .025 and .005 levels respectively. It was concluded that professional actors decrease in empathic ability as they prac-tice their profession.

The study concluded that those persons drawn to the acting profession come with a higher empathic ability than the aver-ageperson and that the ability does not increase with trainingand experience but indeed decreases among professionals.

Order No. 77-22,106, U pages.

THE RATIONALE, VALUES, AND COURSE GUIDE FOR A SENIOR HIGH ORAL INTERPRETATION COURSE

DAVIS, Michael Daniel, D.A. Carnegie -Mellon University , 1977

The dissertation describes the development of an oral in-terpretation course for senior high students. First, the author defines oral interpretation from five points of view: (1) an academic discipline, (2) a specialized complex of speech and ldnesic skills, (3) an approach to literary analysis, (4) a per-forming art, and (5) a continuation of the oral tradition. Then the author identifies the literary, pedagogical, and personal values inherent to oral interpretation. These two chapters form the rationale for the course. A course outline which identifies the objectives, activities, methods, materials, and evaluations for each unit Is presented next. The fourth chapter contains the daily lesson plans and commentary for a sample unit on children's literature from the course. A process for developing oral interpretation programs and the Title III ESEA grant which enabled the author's students to perform such pro-grams for community groups is described in the fifth chapter. A partial survey of the scholarly literature on oral interpre-tation that was examined during the preparation of the disser-tation is presented in chapter six. The dissertation concludes with a bibliography of selected articles and books.

Order No. 77-19,190, 214 pages.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AUDITION AS A METHOD OF SELECTING ACTORS FOR THE PROFESSIONAL LEGITIMATE THEATRE

DEZSERAN, Catherine Agnes Botten, Ph.D. University of Minnesota, 1977

Some form of auditioning has been used in most nations and eras since the beginnings of theatrical activity. Until the twen-tieth century, however, employers seldom used the audition as their principal method of actor selection. These employers generally maintained relatively stable companies of performers and engaged actors only when vacancies occurred in these com-panies. In recruiting new troupe members, employers pre-ferred to hire experienced performers whose professional capabilities were well-known to them. Consequently, they usually found the audition unnecessary as a device for actor selection.

The audition has become a fact of theatrical life in modern America for three principal reasons. First, the Actors' Equity Association compels employers to conduct auditions. Second, many modern employers do not maintain stable companies of actors; as a result, they must constantly find new actors for

the ever-changing compositions of their companies. Third, the audition is the most efficient and economical method for employers of the numerous American theatrical companies to evaluate the abilities of the large numbers of actors avail-able for employment.

Modern employers utilize six major forms of the audition--the interview, the open call, the reading audition, the general audition, the improvisatory audition, and the callback audition. The kind of audition which an employer decides to use to test a performer's suitability for an acting position is usually de-per.dent upon the type of company the employer is casting as well as the kind of production or productions which the com-pany will present.

Although employers and actors maintain varying attitudes towards the audition, most seem to accept the audition as a necessary part of their professions, because they believe that the audition is the most viable method of actor selection in the modern American theatre.

Although employers and actors generally accept the audition as a fact of theatrical life, they do not deny that the auditioning process requires improvements. These employers and actors normally attempt to cope with the deficiencies of the process through their own personal approaches to the auditions in which they participate.

The employer's principal preparatory concerna for auditions are to determine the type or types of auditions that he will use in casting actors as well as the criteria that he will employ in evaluating the suitability of a performer for an acting position. Three basic criteria normally guide a director in his choice of a performer for any position--first, the actor's physical, men-tal, and emotional qualifications; second, the applicant's tech-nique; third, the individual's natural performing abilities.

Because the employer controls the basic framework of the auditioning situation, many of the actor's preparatory consid-erations are contingent upon the kind of audition that an em-ployer decides to use. Of all forms of the audition, the general audition requires the actor to make the greatest number of specific preparatory decisions, because in this mode of the audition the actor maintains the greatest amount of control over what and how he will perform during an audition.

Agents and national theatrical organizations also recognize deficiencies in the contemporary American auditioning process. They attempt to assist employers and actors in accomplishing improvements in the process primarily through their efforts to establish economical, organized, and efficient auditioning procedures. In promoting efficiency In the auditioning process, however, these agents and organizations sometimes encourage the use of fairly impersonal, mechanical, and hurried audition-ing procedures which may work against the personal and sub-jective nature of the casting process.

Order No. 77-18,980, 178 pages.

CLARE TREE MAJOR: CHILDREN'S THEATRE, 1921-1954

GAMBLE, Michael Wesley, Ph.D. New York University, 1976

Chairman: Professor Lowell S. Swortzell

Clare Tree Major (1880-1954) is credited with establishing the first nationally-known theatre for children. The purpose of this study is to investigate the work of Clare Tree Major as a playwright, director, and manager through her children's thea-tre during the years 1923-1954.

Primary sources for this discussion include artistic and production records in the New York Public Library's Theatre Collection at Lincoln Center and the archives of the Children's Museum of Washington, D.C. In addition, a series of interviews were held with Marion DePew Ostrander, the company costume designer for twenty-five years, as well as a number of Major's actors and scenic designers. Those interviewed include Lee Strasherg. James Coro, Velma Royton, Ralph Clanton, Herbert Voland, Robert Whitfield and other theatre professionals and educators.

In order to demonstrate the contributions made by Clare Tree Major to theatre for children in America, the study gives a back-ground of children's theatre in the United States and a brief bi-ography of Major including her professional training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and her experience as a member of the Washington Square Players. Chapter II summarizes the history of the Clare Tree Major Children's Theatre of New York. it chronicles Major's work during her early period from 1923-1928 when she produced plays for sec-ondary school students and children at the Heckscher and Prin-cess Theatres In New York City. During this time she turned to children's theatre exclusively while presenting Saturday morning performances at the Booth Theatre. The years of ex-pansion, 1928-39, show her development from one to a total of six traveling children's companies on a coast-to-coast circuit each year. The later years of Major's career are examined as she continued to tour through World War II and into the 1950's.

In order to demonstrate Major's technique in children's theatre, Chapter III considers extant playscripts and evaluates four of them--Alice in Wonderland, King Midas, or the Golden Touch, Little Women, and Captive Maid of Old Carlisle--ac-iTnqrng to criteria set up in earlier dissertations by Kenneth Graham and Lowell Swortzell. Major's method of preparing plays for child audiences is investigated in Chapter IV; In this chapter her emphasis on voice and diction in direction, block-ing of stage action, use of assistant directors, as well as the design of the costumes and scenery is demonstrated. Chapter V examines Major as a producer of plays for children, centering on advertising and publicity methods, touring schedules, book-ing techniques, and quality control of the performances. The latter is exemplified by an extended study of the 1953-54 Robin Hood touring company.

A conclusion records the contributions of Clare Tree Major and offers suggestions for further research in the field. Ap-pendix A contains cast lists compiled by the investigator. The productions are listed chronologically by season. Appendix B gives touring schedules for the years 1936-39. The data, which includes every performance in these years and the income de-rived from each performance in the 1938-39 season, is pre-sented here for the first time.

This study concludes that even though Clare Tree Major

was innovative neither as a playwright nor a director, she none-theless made significant contributions to professional theatre for children in the United States in production and management techniques. Major inaugurated coast-to-coast tours which in-cluded Toronto and other Canadian cities. She maintained a six-play schedule each season. She achieved a production style recognized as her own for its ability to hold the attention of young audiences. Major's work in children's theatre extended over three decades and brought millions of children their first contact with live professional theatre.

Order No. 77-5305, 375 pages.

A STUDY OF DEPARTMENT CHAIRMEN IN SELECTED COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY THEATRE PROGRAMS. THEIR PERCEIVED PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS

GARRETT, Michael Dean, Ph.D. The Florida State University, 1977

Major Professor: Richard G. Fallon

A study was undertaken in order to identify some of the fac-tors which comprise and affect the work environment of the chairman of a theatre department. It investigated the changes, problem areas, and circumstance's which have affected,or were expected to affect, the operational functioning of either the ad-ministrator or his program.

Since the number of post-secondary theatre programs runs in excess of 1000, the study was limited to those chairmen whose departments offered either the Master of Fine Arts or the Doctor of Philosophy degrees. •Two procedures were then used to obtain the information desired. A questionnaire was sent to the chairmen of the identified departments, and inter-views were arranged with certain of the administrators who had been selected for in-depth questioning.

The data obtained from the questionnaires and interviews indicates that a causal relationship probably exists between many of the factors which make up the chairman's work en-vironment. The assumption of a chairmanship, in fact, car-ries with it an administrative involvement that limits the time available for dealing with one's non-administrative responsi-bilities. Administrative duties were found to occupy the larg-est part of many of the respondents' working day. Most of thhse contacted., in fact, reported that the supervision of the depart-ment requires at least half of their working hours. In addition, many chairmen have institutionally-related duties which com-bine with the departmental obligations to limit their participa-tion in areas such as teaching and research. Previous studies have shown similar results. This study demonstrates that the chairman of a theatre department cannot escape the pressures which are inherent in the position.

The in-person interviews indicated that the growth of ad-ministrative responsibilities has not been altogether a pleasant experience. Indeed, the situation apparently offers a definite potential for discontent and low morale. While ways have been found to cope with some of the burdens of increased adminis-trative responsibilities, more apparently needs to be done. Some possible solutions include increasing the informational and educational resources available to those chairmen who wish to improve their job skills, encouraging more qualified per-sons to assume departmental chairmanships, and, where nec-essary, increasing the auxiliary administrative staff in order that the theatre chairman might be relieved of some of the more burdensome details with which he is now being forcedto contend. Order No. 77-22,110, 154 pages,

FEASIBLE SIMULTANEOUS THEATRES: AN ANALYSTS OT THE SPACE—TIME POSSIBILITIES INHERENT IN THE AUDIENCE—PERFORMER PERCEPTUAL RELATION

'HELLMERS, Leonard Herbert. Jr., Ph.D. The Florida State University, 1978

Major Professor: Theodore Clevenger, Jr.

Using the techniques of geometry, this study exhaustively explores the possible spatial configurations of live theatres. An argument is made for the necessity of certain angalar and distance constraints on the visual perceptions of a performer by an audience member. These constraints are examined In all of their possible combinations; and thus are generated all of the possible configurations in which audience members and performers may feasibly be.

The discussion begins with a geometric analysis both of the perceptual ability of human audience members (their ability to see), and of the perceptual availability of performers (their ability to be seen). A paradigm case is then presented, in which idealized audience members and performers with given con-straints are arranged so as to fill all of the feasibly available space. The configuration thus derived is an example of a fea-sible simultaneous theatre--i.e., a theatre where in any mo-ment all of the audience is able to see all of the performance. The major argument concludes with an exhaustive enumeration of other feasible simultaneous configurations.

There follows a discussion of the effects of variations of size on the shapes of these simultaneous configurations. Non-simultaneous configurations, too, are discussed--i.e., config-urations where not all of the audience sees all of the perfor-mance at the same time. The effects due to the opacity of the audience members and performers are also briefly ex-plored--the present study thereby being related to the tradi-tional theatre architecture concerns of sight-lines and audience seating slopes. The study concludes with an indication of pos-sible avenues of further research.

Order Nu. 77-22,115, 425 pages.

EFFECTIVENESS OF CHAMBER THEATRE COMPARED TO ACTiNG FOR THE UNDERSTANDING OF LITERATURE

HOUSE, Sandra Kay, Ed.D. The University of Tulsa, 1977

Director: Professor Stuart R. Westerlund

The purpose of this study was to compare the responses of freshman English students to two techniques of teaching litera-ture: dramatized acting scenes and Chamber Theatre. The study took place in eight classes of freshman English at two high schools. Twelve students from Drama II were selected at each of two high schools to present the dramatized scenes. There was a total of 188 students involved in the final experi-ment.

The Drama 11 students selected novels that had been writ-ten into plays to give selections in both Chamber and acting styles. Each student submitted questions over their selection for the test. A trial performance was then given for the sopho-more classes that met during the Drama U class period. Both acting and Chamber Theatre versions for each selection were given for the trial test.

After the test had been administered and scored, the effec-tiveness of the items were evaluated through an item analysis.

The test had to be limited, so the fifteen multiple choice questions which discriminated hest were selected. Only mem-bers of the freshman English classes whose classes coincided with Drama II viewed the presentations. Four freshman classes at North High School and South High School observed a Chamber Theatre presentation and a dramatized scene pre-sentation from different selections of literature. After each performance, a multiple choice test was administered imme-diately to determine which performance provided the student with the greatest understanding of literature. The two forms were compared between the classes at each school who saw the same actors, so that the acting ability would not affect the scores.

Cuttings from the novel and selections from the play were from the same section in the literature. The tests over the Chamber and play forms were given to a class of students in the students' classroom on the same day, during the same class period.

In order to find the difference in teaching literature through Chamber Theatre and acting, the following question was asked:

Does having a narrator as used in Chamber Theatre help the student understand and experience a piece of literature better than when viewing the same piece as presented in an acting scene with no narration? This question was stated in the fol-lowing null hypothesis: There is no significant difference be-tween dramatizations which utilize the narration and more traditional dramatizations which exclude the narration in pro-jecting interpretations of prose literature to students.

A one way analysis of variance at the .05 level of signifi-cance was used to teat the null hypothesis that there was no difference in means.

The combined Chamber scores and the combined play scores for all productions placed Chamber Theatre with the highest mean of 10.11 as compared to the plays' mean of 9.0]. The calculated F ratio of 16.4 was well outside the 3.8 which is critical at the .05 level.

On the basis of the results of this study, Chamber Theatre appears to be an excellent way to teach literature to students. It was also noted from the results that some types of literature are more successful in the Chamber form than others. The more abstract pieces of literature that have complicated char-acters, rapid change of locale, time that speeds up, or time that slows down, are better understood through Chamber The-atre. At the .05 level of significance there was a significant difference in favor of Chamber Theatre for more difficult se-lections in literature.

Chamber Theatre makes it possible for the original narra-tive to remain intact with no changes needed for the dramatic presentation. Teachers found that they could use any piece of literature in their classrooms Without having to limit acting in the future strictly to dramatized play scenes given only in dia-logue form. Order No. 77-18,740, 101 pages.

A STUDY OF THE RELATIONSHIPS' AMONG PERFORMER ATTITUDES, INVOLVEMENT WITH PERSONAE, AND THE' PERFORMANCE OF LITERATURE

KEENER, Cecelia Duncan, Ph.D. Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, 1977

Major Professor: Marion L. Kleinau

Attitudes are an important part of the oral interpreter's encounter with the literature he performs. Determination of persona attitude is basic to an understanding of and involve-ment with the persona of a piece of literature. Since the oral Interpretation process involves a relationship between per-former and persona, insight into how attitudes affect an in-terpreter's involvement with the personae of the literature he performs and how the performance of the literature affects the Interpreter's attitudes seems worthy of the attention of inter-pretation scholars.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships among performer attitudes, involvement with personae, and the performance of literature.

The literature relative to attitude change and involvement of the performer with literature which embodies a strong atti-tudinal position was drawn primarily from research.ln speech, social psychology, and theatre. The construct which recurred most often was that of role playing. Experiments conducted to test the effects of role playing on attitudes were surveyed, at-titude change theories were reviewed, and the dynamics of close involvement with a role was examined.

Eighty-eight students enrolled in the beginning oral inter-pretation course at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale served as subject,. One group served as.•performers of lit-erature embodying a strong attitudinal position, one group served as observers of the performance, and one group served as controls.

The script performed was composed of poems which ex-press anti-hunting sentiment. The persona In each poem ex-presses disapproval of hunting.

In order to determine subjects' attitudes toward hunting, a twelve iteft) Likert-type attitude instrument and a twenty-eight

'item semantic differential were used as the pretest. posttest, and delayed posttest. A content analysis of responses to ques-tions, recorded by performers in journals, served as a mea-sure of the performers' involvement with the personae in the poems.

One group of students, the performers, took a pretest mea-suring their attitudes toward hunting. Then they rehearsed and performed a program of poetry in which the personae of the poems held a negative attitude toward hunting. Through-out the rehearsal and performance period, they kept journals in which they recorded responses to questions which indicated their involvement with the personae of the poems. They took

the posttest following performance and six weeks later took the delayed posttest.

Another group, the observers, took the pretest, wrote an analysis of the poems in the script to insure extensive expo-sure to the literature, watched the performance of the poems, and took the posttest and delayed posttest.

The third group, the control group, took only the pretest, posttest and delayed posttest.

Hypothesis one: There will be a significant change in atti-tudes_toward hunting in performers of literature which ex-presses anti-hunting attitudes. A one-way analysis of variance was used to test this hypothesis. The independent variable was assignment to a task in an oral interpretation class. This vari-able was varied three ways: treatment one--performer, treat-ment two--observer, and treatment three--control. The hy-pothesis was generally supported.

Hypothesis two: There will be a significant relationship be-tween the depth of persona involvement assumed by a performer of literature expressing anti-hunting attitudes and his attitudes related to hunting. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to date/mine the relationships between the depth of persona in-volvement and the performers' attitudes toward hunting. The hypothesis was not supported.

The implications of this study demand that teachers and di-rectors of oral interpretation become aware of the possible consequences of the oral interpreter's experience with the lit-erature he performs. Order No. 77-24,467, 138 pages.

AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF SEX AS A FACTOR IN— FLUENCING AUDIENCE EVALUATION OF PERFORMER EFFECTIVENESS AND AUDIENCE COMPREHENSION OF PERFORMANCE FOR SELECTED DRAMATIC MONOLOGUES

KWAL, Teri Susan, Ph.D. New York University, 1976

Chairman: Professor Jean W. White

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the sex of an oral interpreter, and the sex of the dramatic charac-

ter portrayed compounded to affect audience evaluation of per-former effectiveness and audience comprehension of the perfor-mance.

The following six hypotheses weré postulated: 1. There will be no significant main effect for sex of interpreter on subject ratings of performer effectiveness. 2. There will be no signifi-cant main effect for sex of dramatic character being inter-preted on subject ratings of performer effectiveness. 3. There will be no significant interaction effect between sex of inter-preter and sex of dramatic character on subject ratings of per-former effectiveness. 4. There will be no significant main ef-fect for sex of interpreter on audience comprehension of the passages. 5. There will be no significant main effect for sex of dramatic character being interpreted on audience compre-hension of the passages. 6. There will be no significant inter-aétlon effect between sex of interpreter and sex of dramatic character on audience comprehension of the passages.

A pilot test for the purpose of selecting dramatic mono-logues to be used in the study provided the researcher with six equally readable monologues, of which three were clearly mas-culine in nature and three were clearly feminine in nature.

The subjects were 275 undergraduates enrolled in twelve sections of-Communication Arts and Sciences I (C.A.S. I) at Queens College. Two extremely competent interpreters, one male and one female, were chosen from a pool of six readers on the basis of an interpreter selection test administered to a panel of five irterpre'atior inst'uctors. Each or the chosen in-terpreters was videotaped while performing the six selected monologues. In all, twelve videotapes were made.

The twelve randomly selected C.A.S. I sections were ran, dornly assigned to view one of the twelve videotaped perfor-mances. The data were collected in a manner consistent with the purposes of the study. The Reader Evaluation Form devel-oped by Roland was used to assess perceived effectiveness. A doze procedure form was used to assess'audience compre-hension of performance. A 2x2 factorial design for effective-ness and comprehension was used to test the stated hypothe-ses. The statistical method of analyss of variance was used to analyse the data.

The results of the study demonstrated that there were no significant main effects for either sex of interpreter, or for sex of dramatic character being interpreted ón audience rat-ings of performer effectiveness. However, hypothesis three, which predicted that there would be no significant interaction effect between sex of interpreter and sex of dramatic charac-ter on subject ratings of performer effectiveness, was rejected at the .05 level of significance. The female interpreter was judged to perform female roles significantly better than the male interpreter was judged to perform female roles, but the male interpreter was not judged to perform male roles signifi-cantly better than the female interpreter was judged to perform male roles.

The results of the study also indicated that there was no significant main effect for sex of interpreter on audience com-prehension of the dramatic passages, and that there was no sig-nificant interaction effect between s'ex of interpreter and sex of dramatic character on audience comprehension of the dra-matic passages. However, hypothesis five which predicted thát there would be no significant main effect for sex of dramatic character being Interpreted on audience comprehension of the dramatic passages was rejected at the .001 level of significance. The female character's passages were better comprehended by the audience regardless of whether the passage was performed by a male or by a female interpreter.

Order No. 77-5317, 145 pages.

ZIEVI OM[ENTS FOR ORAL INTERPRETATION: THE DEMON AND USE OF. SPACE FOR THE PRRFORMANCE OF LITERATURE

LOXLEY, Robert Brian, Ph.D. Southern Illinois University, 1977

Major Professor: Dr. Marion L. Kleinan

The study explores the relationship of oral interpretation to its environment, or physical setting, and focuses more spe-cifically on the design and use or space for the interpretation event. The primary thrust of the study is an attempt to de-velop alternatives to the more conventional environments of the classroom and theatre. The study attempts to answer the following questions: (1) What is the relationship between oral interpretation and its traditional setting? (2) What should be the role of the physical setting in the interpretation experi-ence? (9) What is the process of evolving environmental forms and spatial designs for interpretation? and (41 What are possible alternatives to the conventional setting, and how might they be used? Two of the major concepts developed in the study are: (1) since the environment and behavior influence each other through a process of reciprocal interaction, any

-consideration of the environment and space needs to be equally concerned with what happens within the environment--or the behavioral system of the event; and (2) since the present en-vironment and use of space have influenced--and have become a part of--the very definition of the interpretation event, the event itself needs to be redefined, or reassessed, before a new environment is evolved for it. Because so little has been writ-ten about the interpretation environment--and because no en-vironment has been designed specifically for interpretation--the study draws upon ideas and concepts in other areas of study, such as environmental psychology, the design fields, other art forms, and recent developments in aesthetics.

Chapter one reviews the writings of interpretation theo-rists on the environment and use of space and concludes that very little consideration has been given to the environment and, further, that the conventional environment and spatial arrange-ment of the classroom and theatre appear to be implicitly--and uncritically--accepted by a majority of interpreters as the predominant environmental model for interpretation. Although a number of more recent writers have indicated a desire to explore alternative spatial arrangements and environments, no clear method or direction has emerged in the search for alternatives.

Chapter two examines current concepts and theories of the man-environment relationship and the design of the environ-ment. It explores the reasons why little attention has been given to the effects of the environment on man's behavior and discusses emerging views of the man-environment relation-ship. It then presents a view of the design process in which environmental 'form' is evolved from an analysis of the de-sign 'context,' which is a system of requisite behaviors which are necessary to realize the. specific values and needs of those who will use the environment. The chapter also describes a 'humanistic' orientation to the design process and the charac-teristics of the forms which are emerging from this approach.

Chapter three integrates the theories of the environment and design with oral interpretation and defines the interpreta-tion event as a 'context' for environmental form. A theory of design is developed for interpretation in which the environment is seen to evolve from a consideration of the literature, the performance, the integration of the audience into the perfor-mance,+and the event as a social occasion--all of which them-selves need to be 'designed' before considering the environ-ment which is required to support them.

Chapter tour establishes the requirements for environmen-tal form and suggests alternative possibilities for providing environmental support for the interpretation event. It con-siders the demands which are placed upon the performance space by the literature, the interpreter, and the audience and the extra-performance concerns which also make demands on the design of the environment. Lastly, the chapter considers nontraditional uses of the conventional environment, the de-sign of original interpretation environments, and the use of 'found' spaces in the extended environment.

The Conclusion suggests that a greater recognition of the environment and the use of space as significant and integral iurts of the interpretation event would be of sometensfit to oral interpreters and also that in exploring alternatives inter-preters should free themselves more completely from the con-straints of the traditional environments and uses of space. It recommends that the concepts presented in %he study be ex-plored further in practice and points to a number of specific issues which need further study in this area.

Order No. 77-18,854, 477 pages.

AN EXAMINATION OF THE STATUS OF THEA11112 ARTS AS TAUGHT IN THE PUBLIC SECONDARY 8C 3LS OF NEW JERSEY

MURPHY, James Ronald, Ed.D. Columbia University Teachers College, 1977

Sponsor: Professor Steven Epstein

This study investigated the nature and scope of the teaching of theatre arts in New Jersey's public secondary schools. In an attempt to describe the prevailing practices and conditions for the 1974-1975 academic year, a questionnaire was pre-pared and mailed to every secondary school in the state. The questionnaire was designed to determine both the quality and quantity of the state's theatre arts programs. The instrument was sent either directly to the principal in each school or in-directly to each principal in his district by the County Super-intendent's Office. Of the 467 questionnaires sent to the prin-cipals 277 or 59.31 percent were returned.

A profile of the typical theatre arts program in the public secondary schools of New Jersey was drawn from the data. The profile generalizes about instructional programs, facili-ties, play production activities, and theatre teacher training and background. In addition, this investigation sought to de-termine the relationship between the size of a school and its location and other selected data. Crosstabulations between sise and location and the response to other items on the ques-tionnaire were analyzed.

The analysis of the data indicates that the majority (51 per-cent),of,New Jersey's public secondary schools offer at least one basic .tit. oduc,ory coui se in theatre arts, that only one theatre arts faculty member is employed in 88 percent of the schools, and that most of these teachers (56 percent) do not hold the proper certificate given by the state of New Jersey. The larger schools (over 1,500 students) of the state usuallyhave developed theatre arts programs more fully. Schools lo-cated in the Urban areas of the state have substantially weaker programs in theatre arts than those in other areas of the state under investigation (Inner City, Suburban, Rural).

The study concludes with an analysis of implications for further study in the field as well as for future research pro-cedure. It presents recommendations for developing full pro-grams in theatre in each of the public secondary schools of the state. It also recommends the training and hiring of properly certified faculty to carry on such programs.

Order No. 77-22,277, 98 pages.

BTANISLAYSiU: HiS ACTING PRINCIPLES AND THEiR SIGNIFICANCE FOR THE-FIELD OF ORAL INTERPRETATION

NEIMAN, Jaék, Ph.D. University.of California, Los Angeles, 1977

Chairman: Professor Donald E. Hargis

This is a descriptive-theoretical dissertation in the area of oral interpretation of literature. The primary objective is to present a description of the acting fundamentals of Constantin Stanislavski, with the specific purpose of determining their sig-nificance for the oral interpreter. Can the application of these acting principles lead to a more meaningful oral presentation of literature? The author hypothesizes that they can.

A oossiderable amount of material has been published re-lating to all aspects of acting. Somewhat less material has been published relating to the highly specific field of oral in-terpretation of literature; however, there have been few at-tempts to glean information from one of these disciplines to broaden the scope of the other. In fact, the cross-transference of the procedures from one of these disciplines to the other has sometimes been labeled as professional encroachment. During the course of his research, the author was unable to uncover any published effort attempting to apply the Stanis-layski •method' to oral interpretation. Articles which deal with Stanislayski in the Quarterly Journal of Speech (e.g., Schnitzler [April 19541, and Hewitt and d'Angelo [June 19321) attempt to clarify misinterpretations of the Stanislayski sys-tem, but do so strictly within the confines of acting.

The dissertation first concerns itself with the general field of oral interpretation of literature. It defines that art and de-scribes its nature, as well as expiable how oral interpretation fits into the total field of communication. Next, through care-ful and detailed examination of Stanialayski's acting principles, the dissertation emphasizes that Stanislayski regarded his method as a means by which a state of inspiration and cre-ativity could be induced. His system is dedicated to honesty of performance. Stanislayskt's notions of analysis of script,

suinternal creative techniqueand external creative technique-,ggest that an actor 'live' his role and, therefore, act-in and

not act-out his part. Additionally, this dissertation adapts Stan-islayskl's insights, thereby generating a new system of cre-ative interpretation.

The author employs a student-teacher model to explain how the Stanislayski system may be converted specifically to the oral interpretation of literature. It is suggested that such a method of grappling with meaning, creativity, and presentation will maximize the ethical effect of oral presentation.

You must not duplicate . . , you must create something of your own.

--Stanislayski

Order No. 77-17,293, 124 pages.

AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF CREATIVE MOVEMENT AS A MEANS OF INCREASING POSITIVE SELF-CONCEPT, PERSONAL, AND SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT OF SELECTED SEVENTH GRADE STUDENTS

OSHUNS, Margaret Gwen, Ph.D. The Ohio State University, 1977

Adviser: Professor Donald R. Bateman

The purpose of this exploratory study was to determine whether creative movement would increase self-concept in a select group of seventh grade students. Two classes of seventh grade parochial school students were chosen from two different kindergarten thruu„h sigh.t, grade schools located on the west-side of Columbus, Ohio.

One class was chosen as the treatment group, the other as the control group based on the researcher's familiarity with the treatment group's staff and plant facilities. At the begin-ning of the study there were twenty subjects in the control group. At the completion of the study there were twenty subjects in the control group and nineteen int the treatment group -- one child dropped out.

The treatment was three school weeks in duration. On the first (Day 1) and last (Day XV) day of the treatment, the Piers-Harris Children's Self -Concept Scale and The California Test of Personality were administered to both the treatment and control groups. The control group spent Day 2-14 engaged in their usual classroom activities. The Treatment group, how- ' ever spent Days 2-14 actively participating in daily workshops exploring the critical elements of creative movement.

The treatment consisted of daily hour and a half sessions where the children discovered new ways to move their bodies and new ways to move through space. The children were guided in their explorations by the researcher who helped them work as individuals and in groups for forty-five minutes to an hour. The remaining half hour was spent recording their thoughts, feelings, and answers to questions of the day's activities that were provided by the researcher. Some of the areas explored were time, space, rhythm, levels, weight, force, flow, and creative dramatics.

The quantitative extent of the students' participation was recorded by observers who occasionally served as demon-strators of difficult movement concepts. The content of the treatment was primarily based on the movement techniques of Barbara Mettler and the creative dramatics techniques of Viola Spolin and the researcher.

Various analyses of variance were employed to determine the comparableness of the two groups, to determine the signifi-cance of sex in the results, and to determine whether creative movement increased self-concept as operationally defined by the Piers-Harris or life adjustment as operationally defined by the California Test of Personality.

The results of the two objective personality tests revealed that creative movement seemed to reduce anxiety as operation-ally defined by the Piers-Harris, and increase positive school relations with the students, peers, teachers, and other adults as operationally defined by the California Test of Personality. Interestingly, the objective test data was supported by the sub-jective data compiled by the researcher which consisted of the students' self-reports (their daily journals), the researcher's personal log, and reports from the students' homeroom teacher, other classroom teachers, and the principal.

Recommendations that were drawn from the study included ' a need to expand the size and scope of the study to include public school children who would participate in creative move-ment activities weekly for at least a school year. Other rec-ommendations included the need to find alternative methods for evaluating creative movement activities. Some of these were Effort/Shape, variations on George !Kelly's work, and the re-sponsive evaluation techniques of Robert Stake and Gordon lobe. Order No. 77-17,121, 191 pages.

A COMPARATIVE HISTORY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF IMPROVISATION IN THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH IN THE UNITED STATES AND IN THE UNITED KINGDOM FROM 1910-19.75

SARASON, Kerin R., Ph.D. The University of Connecticut, 1978

Improvisation or creative dramatics, defined as a dramatic activity in which the performers act as they create their lines spontaneously, was distinguished from formal drama Minch is based on a script and is performed for an audience..other than the actors. Authorities on the teaching of English in both England and the United States have recommended improvisa-tion as an effective method of achieving cognitive as well as affective goals. This study examines the informal drama movement in these two countries so as to provide a compara-fve history for the period 1910-1975.

Pivotal writers on improvisation in England and In the United•States during the period from 1910-1375 were iden-tified, their goals and practices analyzed, and comparisons and contrasts between the two groups noted.

Where similarities were found the question was asked as to whether writers of one country influenced the other. Where there were differences, three questions were raised to at-tempt to account for those differences. Were they the result of varying economic and political conditions in the respective countries? Were they to be explained by the difference in edu-cational establishments in these countries? Were they an 'out-come of educational philosophies held by the pivotal writers?

Many similarities were found, but there was no evidence that the pivotal writers on improvisation in the two countries had a direct influence on each other. Study of the responses to economic and political conditions by these writers failed to account for differences between the two groups, nor did their educational philosophies and the educational establishments in their respective countries explain varying points of view. Differences appeared to he a matter of Individual choices.

The first writers on creative dramatics in the United States acknowledged their affinity with the Progressive Education movement and many of their goals were identical with thegoals of that movement. The aims of the English improvisa-tiosists were found to have had their origins in developmental philosophies of the previous century. But American writers also acknowledged their debt to these traditions, and a partial explanation for likenesses between the two groups became ap-parent.

When creative dramatics came to the fore at the Anglo-American Conference at Dartmouth in 1968, there had been cpnsiderable literature on the subject ever since 1911. What had been the role of official and non-official agencies in En-gland and America during that interim in advancing the cause of that movement? It was found that the English Ministry of Education had played a more positive part in calling dramatics methods in the teaching of English to teachers in that field than its counterpart in the United States, the U.S. Office of Educa-tion. That agency took an active role in the 19605: the En-glish Ministry had lull its support thirty years earlier. Pro-fessional organizations in each of the countries have supported the improvisation movement, but that support is most evident since the Dartmouth Seminar. No English pivotal writer at-tended the Seminar, but the one American who did was influ-enced by it and, in turn, influenced the English educators who were there.

improvisation has been given a broader definition since . 1911 when it signified merely the production of an unscripted play by students, performing only fur themselves, and using original dialogue. it has come to mean spontaneous activities of all sorts likely to occur in the English classroom, and im-provisational techniques have been recommended to develop an English activities program. As the emphasis on the pol-ished play has ceased, improvisation has come to be regarded as a learning tool in the teaching of English.

Order No. 77-4295, 292 pages.

A COMPARISON OF TWO INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS FOR TEACHING COMMUNICATIVE SKILLS OF ORAL INTERPRETATION

SMITH, Arthur Yates, Ed.D. Brigham Young University, 1977

Chairman: Clark D. Webb

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a significant difterence in achievement, attitudes ana skills-in-performance between students who were engaged in an indi-vidualized mirror methodology and student's who were engaged in a traditional instructional methodology in oral interpreta-tion. Analyses of covariance were conducted for the pretest-posttest gains on achievement, attitudes, and skill-in-perfor-mance. Correlations between these varlablese.were also measured.

No significant differences were found on the analyses be-tween experimental and control groups. However, a significant difference was found between achievement posttest and skills-in-performance pretest. A correlation was found between the dependent variables of achievement-skills and attitude-skills. The conclusions of the study indicate that neither approach isany more successful than the other in the teaching of students in oral interpretation. Order No. 77-17,827, 100 pages.

ALBERT MCCLEERY'S TRANSFER OF THEATRE PRAC— TiCE TO LIVE TELEVISEN DRAMA

THIEL, Joan Elizabeth, Ph.D. The University of Michigan, 1977

Chairman: Edward Stasheff

This dissertation is a historical-descriptitie study of early career experiences which influenced Albert McCleery as well as the contributions he made to the development of "live' drama on television. The information was secured from a wide variety of sources: the private papers of his associates, interviews with people who worked with him, the kinescopes of four programs produced and directed by him, NBC publicity releases, the flies of the NBC Program Analysis Department, reviews in the contemporary press and his own writings and transcripts of his speeches.

McCleery was a pioneer in the arena theatre movement as well as in television drama. Through his theatre experiences during the thirties he learned certain theatrical principles that he would ultimately transfer to the drama of television. His early. mentors were Gilmor Brown, Grant Wood and Margo Jones.

During these early years, McCleery developed the strong conviction that the face of the actor was the single most impor-tant aspect of the theatre. He believed, with great urgency, that the audience wanted 'to see and hear' what they were wit-nessing. So he built his arena theatre small and he got his audience close to the actor. Television was the perfect instru-ment in his endeavors to see 'what the actor is thinking.' He brought his camera tight in on the actor's face to the point that it filled the screen completely. He called this technique the "cameo shot."

With the cameo shot, he needed a viable staging method that would give the camera the greatest access to the actor. 'Cameo staging,' with the cameras "clustered' in the midst of a group of actors, provided this accessibility. It also re-quired McCleery to surround his actors with a purple-black background against which he could frame their features, com-parable to the features on a cameo brooch. •Cameo style* means camera close-ups, stripped down, low key lighting and

stylized sets for the purpose of bringing the characters and action of the drama into sharp focus and, ultimately, to heighten the dramatic impact on the viewer.

McCleery's name is irrevocably linked with three signifi-cant series in television history: Cameo Theatre, Hallmark Hali of Fame and Matinee Theatre. Under Hallmark's spoñ-sorship, McCleery was able to make his next contribution to television, the presentation of quality drama. With Hallmark he produced and directed Hamlet (1953) in television's first two-hour drama.

From his Army career he brought to television an organiza-tion and method of operation that sustained and maintained 668 one-hour dramas over a period of three years under the series title of Matinee Theatre.

His sense of theatrical showmanship also found'expression in the elements of spectacle (attention-getting devices) of some of his television dramas.

McCleery's contributions to television drama were in four areas: cameo and its pictorial concept, the script, organiza-tion and spectacle. Order No. 77-18,134, 410 pages.

Copies of the dissertations may be obtained by addressing your request to:

University Microfilms International 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106

or by telephoning (toll-free) 1-800-521-3042